''Prostanthera galbraithiae'', commonly known as Wellington mint-bush, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savo ...

and is endemic to Victoria in Australia. It is an erect or spreading shrub with densely hairy branches that are more or less square in cross-section, narrow egg-shaped or oblong leaves with the edges rolled under, and deep mauve to purple flowers with maroon dots inside the petal tube.

Description

''Prostanthera galbraithiae'' is an erect or spreading shrub that typically grows to a height of and has densely hairy branches that are more or less square in cross-section. It has mid-green, narrow egg-shaped or oblong leaves that are aromatic when crushed, long, up to wide and

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

. The flowers are arranged in 8 to 24 leaf axils near the ends of the branchlets, each flower on a

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

long. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined ...

s are green on the upper surface, maroon below and form a tube long with two lobes long. The petals are long, deep-mauve to purple with maroon spots in the centre and form a tube long with two lips. The lower lip has three lobes, the central lobe long and wide and the side lobes long and wide. The upper lobe is long and wide. Flowering occurs from September to October.

Taxonomy

''Prostanthera galbraithiae'' was first formally described by botanist

Barry Conn Barry John Conn (Barry Conn, born 1948), is an Australian botanist. He was awarded a Ph.D. from Adelaide University in 1982 for work on ''Prostanthera''. Career Conn's first appointment as a botanist was with the Lae Herbarium in 1974. He ...

in 1998 in the journal '' Telopea''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

is named for

Jean Galbraith Jean Galbraith (28 March 1906 – 2 January 1999) was an Australian botanist, gardener, writer of children's books and poet. Galbraith was born at Tyers, Gippsland, where she lived for her whole life. The family's sprawling native garden at t ...

, a member of the Latrobe Valley Field Naturalists, who co-discovered the species and advocated for its protection.

Distribution and habitat

Wellington mint-bush occurs on sandy soils over clay on the

Gippsland Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It cove ...

plains in

Holey Plains State Park Holey Plains State Park is a state park in East Gippsland, Victoria in south-eastern Australia. It is known for its exceptionally diverse flora, with about one in five plant species known in Victoria present in the park. The park is situated be ...

. It is associated with ''

Eucalyptus obliqua ''Eucalyptus obliqua'', commonly known as messmate stringybark or messmate, but also known as brown top, brown top stringbark, stringybark or Tasmanian oak, is a species of tree that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has rough, stringy or ...

'' woodland with a heathy understorey including species such as ''

Acacia oxycedrus ''Acacia oxycedrus'', commonly known as spike wattle, is an erect or spreading shrub which is endemic to Australia. Description The prickly shrub grows to a height of and has a width of around with a dense habit. Like most species of ''Acacia' ...

'', ''

Epacris impressa ''Epacris impressa'', also known as common heath, is a plant of the heath family, Ericaceae, that is native to southeast Australia (the states of Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and New South Wales). French botanist Jacques Labillardi� ...

'', ''

Lepidosperma concavum ''Lepidosperma concavum'', commonly known as the sandhill sword-sedge, is a plant found in coastal regions of south-eastern and eastern Australia. It grows on sandy soils in woodland, forest and heathland. Description The sandhill sword-sedge ...

'', ''

Leptospermum myrsinoides ''Leptospermum myrsinoides'', commonly known as the heath tea-tree or silky tea-tree, is a species of shrub that is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It has smooth bark on the younger stems, narrow egg-shaped leaves with the narrowe ...

'' and ''

Platylobium obtusangulum ''Platylobium obtusangulum'', the common flat-pea, is a shrub that is endemic to Australia. It is a member of the family Fabaceae and of the genus ''Platylobium''. The species is an erect or straggling shrub that can grow up to 1 metre in hei ...

''.

Conservation status

This species is classified as "vulnerable" under the Australian Government ''

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cult ...

'', as "threatened" under the Victorian Government ''

Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 The ''Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988'', also known as the ''FFG Act'', is an act of the Victorian Government designed to protect species, genetic material and habitats, to prevent extinction and allow maximum genetic diversity within the Au ...

''. The main threats to the species include inappropriate fire regimes, firebreak maintenance, herbicide use and competition from bracken fern ''

Pteridium esculentum ''Pteridium esculentum'', commonly known as bracken fern, Austral bracken or simply bracken, is a species of the bracken genus native to a number of countries in the Southern Hemisphere. Esculentum means edible. First described as ''Pteris escu ...

''. It can become locally common after fire. Fire intervals of less than 10 years may limit soil seed bank replenishment, and fire intervals greater than 20 years may diminish seedbank persistence. Low fire intensity may also limit germination of soil stored seed.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7250956 galbraithiae Flora of Victoria (state) Lamiales of Australia Taxa named by Barry John Conn Plants described in 1998